Stumbling
by ellabellbee
Summary: What if Miley never told Jake she was Hannah Montana? Miley and Jake still break up, but that doesn't mean Jake can't date Hannah and be friends with Miley at the same time! Can Miley keep Jake from figuring it out? What happens when he does? Miley/Jake
1. Break and new beginning

**What if Miley never told Jake that she was Hannah Montana? Jake never invented Milo, nor has ever put on a wig for anonymity. They didn't break up right away after they finally got together. Begins a few months after Achy Jakey Heart. Miley/Jake.**

* * *

"I have to break up with him." She had played out every possible scenario in her head, but it all came down to the same thing. She wanted a normal life. Jake couldn't give that to her. She couldn't be the girl that sat around waiting for him to show up after months of being away, constantly checking her phone for messages that he never left.

She didn't want to be in the magazines as Miley; it was the whole reason they invented Hannah Montana. Now she was in the tabloids just as much as her alter ego.

She hated lying to him, but couldn't tell him her secret. He had a big ego, she couldn't tell what he would do if he knew. It would change the whole basis of their relationship. It had taken her years to tell Lilley and Oliver, so despite that Jake was her boyfriend, she didn't know how much she could trust him. He had so much growing up to do. Has he ever had real friends before? Does he even know how to keep a secret?

During the past few weeks she had some of the best times of her life… but she also compromised so much for him. She couldn't do it anymore. It all came back to the same thing. "I have to break up with him."

Lilley reached out and let Miley's head come crashing into her shoulder, her shoulder now wet with Miley's tears. "Shhhh," she whispered as she rubbed Miley's back. "It'll be okay."

Miley nodded, her mascara staining Lilley's shirt. "It's going to be so hard…"

"Harder than it already was?" Lilley strained to find comfort in the situation. "He needs to give as much as you give, and that's not going to happen. This was about both of you, not just him." Lilley sighed, her own heart breaking for her friend. "You get to be Miley again. Not Jake's girlfriend."

Miley smiled a little bit at her friend's words. She knew Lilley was trying hard, but she doubted that the hole she was feeling in her chest would start to fill in any time soon. The only saving grace was that Jake was leaving again for another movie. It would be a clean break. She wouldn't see him for 4 more months. She could start to heal. She sat up and wiped her eyes and a new determination fired inside of her. "Then I'm going to be the happiest, funniest, and most fun Miley that there is. I'm not going to let a boy bring me down."

* * *

It was almost six months later when Jake walked back into her life without any warning. She heard him before she saw him backstage at a benefit concert. "Now, now, I have plenty of time before my appearance, there's enough of me for everyone."

Miley stood still, frozen in fear as his voice carried over the din, and then as if her body was moving on its own accord, she turned towards him. Somewhere her brain was recognizing that she could hear Lilley's voice cry above everyone else's ("Hannah, Hannah! I have to talk to you before you see…") but it was too late. The pink wig came into her peripheral vision and Lilley's voice dropped as she followed Hannah's gaze over to the screaming fans. "… Jake."

Time seemed slow down, the voices all around her melted away and she was left with only the sound of the blood rushing in her ears. He looked up that instant and met Hannah's eyes across the room and he smiled a sort of half smile. His forehead creased with a bit of confusion and then he raised his eyebrows in a bit of a question. He lifted his hand in a half wave and she could see a bit of vulnerability there, him questioning why this girl that he barely knew was staring at him with a ghostly complexion and she gave a half smile back. In an instant that vulnerability was gone and a wide smile broke over his features. The spell was broken. His mask slipped back over. Her smile faded. Hannah could feel Lilley's arms pushing her and over her thumping heart she heard an announcer cry, "And now, Hannah Montana!" She shook her head and tried to jolt herself out of her trance. The whole exchange maybe took five seconds at the most, but it felt like an hour.

Lilley punched her arm. "Hannah, they're calling your name!" Hannah seemed to snap out of her reverie and Lilley handed her the microphone. "Get out there! And have a good time!" Hannah still looked slightly shell shocked, so Lola grabbed her and went right to her ear. "Remember, the most fun Miley AND Hannah that there is!"

Miley smiled. The past few months whenever she thought of Jake she instead put that energy into her friends, her songs, and her school. She had made new friends. She stuck up for the 'unpopular' crowd. She forced a happy smile onto her face and eventually it felt like it belonged there. "Okay," she said, bracing herself. She took a deep breath, pasted the smile onto her face and let the breath out slowly. "Okay. I'm ready." She took the microphone from Lilley and switched it on, glancing at the stage manager who was waving her on. "Hello everybody, are you ready to get crazy?"

* * *

She was hiding in her dressing room. If she could just get out without Jake seeing Hannah, it would be so much easier for Miley. Lola was keeping watch by peaking out the door and relaying back what was going on. "He's coming off stage and talking to a stage hand… the stage hand is gesturing with his hands, he's looking at his papers… oh no, he's pointing over here, and Jake's on his way over! Eep!" Lilley turned in a frantic full circle with her arms waving widely and then ran and sat next to Miley on the couch.

"Okay, look normal!" The door was pushed open and the girls burst out into a laughing fit. "Oh Lola, you're too funny."

"No, Hannah, you're too funny!" Lola playfully slapped Hannah's knee and burst into a crazy laughter again.

Hannah glared at Lola and she quickly shut her mouth. "Oh, hi, Jake." Hannah pasted on a fake smile and became overly friendly. "It's been a long time. How _are_ you? How was your _movie_? Did you meet anyone? I heard things didn't work out with _you_ and that girl at school. How are _you_ doing? Are you dating anyone? Hmmm? Hmmm? Hmmm?"

Lilley leaned in close. "You're getting the scary eyes."

Miley shuddered. "Too much?"

Lilley nodded. "Yeah," she replied, exasperated.

Hannah put the smile back on. "So, how about that concert? Or the movie? Or the new girlfriend?"

Jake shook his head and lowered himself onto a spare chair. "Uh, hey Hannah, it's been a long time." He shrugged and any trace of uncertainty fell away as he donned the movie star smile, practically complete with a *ping*. "The movie was great! They loved me, but who doesn't?"

Miley was in mid eye-roll when Jackson burst through the door. "Okay girls, the faster we can get out of here… " He stopped abruptly. "Hey Jake."

Jake looked at Jackson puzzled for a second but then regained his composure. "Hey Jackson, I forgot you were friends with Hannah."

"Well, friend is a rather strong word…" He noticed Miley giving him the death glare. "… but we go WAY back…"

"yeah, great… listen, can I talk to you for a second?" Jake grabbed Jackson by the arm and hauled him out the door. "Jackson, does Miley know Hannah?"

Jackson adjusted his shirt, buying time. "Uh, well, I can't say I've ever seen them in the same place at the same time…"

"So they're not friends?"

"Sure, you could say that…."

"Okay." Jake breathed out in relief and decided to take another route. "Is Hannah dating anyone right now?"

Jackson laughed. "Hannah? No. She's… wait, what?"

Jake smiled. "It's just that I think she was flirting with me and… thanks." He paused on his way back inside and turned back. "Listen, I'm going to be starting school again tomorrow and could you break it to Miley nicely that I'm back in town? I don't want it to be awkward."

"Somehow, I think she already knows."

"Uh, sure Jackson." He turned to leave again but hesitated. "Is Miley dating anyone – no, never mind. I don't want to know."

"For the record, she's not."

"Thanks." Jake turned and headed back inside the dressing room, practically running over an eavesdropping Lola in the process.

"Oh, I was just leaving to talk to… someone, but they're not there, so I'll stay here." Lola looked widely over to Hannah, looking for a collaborator.

"Actually, I was kind of hoping that I could talk to Hannah in private for a moment…" Jake looked knowingly over at Lola.

"But I have to stay here for distressing Hannah and helping with her… vocal cooldown! And her routine is very important! .. and…" Jake was looking at her incredulously and Lilley deflated. "Okay, fine, you and… ugh." She ran towards the door, grabbing Jackson on the way out. "Bye!"

Hannah gave Lilley the death glare before she ran out the door, then pasted on a smile. "Jaaaaake, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I saw you on the guest list for the premiere event tomorrow night, and I wanted to know if you wanted to go together."

Hannah smiled and muttered though her teeth, "heart breakin' hottie say what?"

Jake felt a weird sense of déjà vu, but couldn't work out heads or tails of her comment, so he ploughed on. "Well, it would be great publicity, Hannah, and I always have a lot of fun when I'm around you. It'll be fun. What do you say?"

"Uh… "

"Great! Give me your address and I'll pick you up, or, my driver will."

"No wait, I'll have to meet you, I'm going to be…" She cast around widely for something to say. "The studio! That's where I'll be, you'll have to meet me there. I'll be ready."

"Great." He flashed a dazzling smile at her and retreated. "I still have your number. See you tomorrow!"

Miley stood in a daze for a full minute before a stagehand knocked on the door. "Miss Montana? Your limo is ready to go, and Lola's waiting for you."

"Right… okay. Okay." She shook her head to try and knock some sense into it. "Oh, sweet nibblets!"

* * *

Enjoy? I love reviews! What I love even more than postive reviews are ones that give me way to improve. Got it? Awesome.


	2. First Fall

**It's a short chapter, but that means I can update more regularily. I think it will be about 10 chapters in all. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

As much as Miley tried to tell herself she didn't care that Jake was back, and that he MUST be over her because he asked out Hannah, she found herself putting in a little extra effort into getting ready that morning. "Ugh," Miley found herself saying to Lilley at lunch. "I'm a cliché of my own song."

"Sure," Lilley said emphatically, "but you're a very good looking cliché! Have you seen him yet?"

Miley shook her head. "I thought we would have class together in the morning, but maybe he decided to wait until after he had his picture taken with _Hannah_ to show back up. He hasn't even come to the cafeteria. Ugh." She stomped her foot in annoyance just as he turned the corner with his books in his hands and walked right by them, destined for the same classroom that Miley and Lilley were scheduled for in the afternoon. Their heads followed in unison. "and now he's ignoring me!"

"Maybe he didn't see you?" Lilley asked timidly, but they both new that he did; they could see it in his eyes as he scanned the crowd and decidedly did not make eye contact. But now there was no more mystery: Jake Ryan was back at school.

* * *

They made it through almost the whole day without having to say anything to each other or make eye contact. It worked out well; MIley was surrounded by Lilley and Oliver and Jake was surrounded by screaming fangirls. Miley and Lilley ran straight from their final class out the front doors, skipping their lockers completely because they were short on time to transform Miley into Hannah, and ran right into Jake on the way out. Miley stumbled backward and Jake grabbed her arm, saving her before she fell completely over.

"Hey!" cried Lilley from the ground where she was rubbing her hip.

Jake reached down to help her up. "Sorry Lilley, uh, can you give me a moment to talk to MIley?" he waited a second while Lilley just stared back. "Alone?"

"Oh, sure. Miley, I'll just be…" she pointed down the steps and around the corner and waited for Miley's nod. "twice in two days" she muttered to herself. "what am I, invisible? Supposed to be best friend…"

Miley watched Lilley keep muttering to herself as she left and silently vowed to make it up to her. She turned to Jake and forced her confident face back on. "So, I'm in a bit of a hurry, so if we could make this quick…"

"It's good to see you, Miley," he said softly to her. "I just wanted to say that."

Miley looked up into his eyes and could see Jake underneath – the one that wanted to be normal. "Oh, Jake…" she sighed.

"Wait." Jake said, and Miley stopped, a little more uncertain, and waited for Jake to continue. "I know you don't want to be in the tabloids, which is why we can't do this again. But I miss you Miley. I'd still like to be friends."

She felt the smile fade from her face and she let the breath out that she didn't know she was holding. "Friends, Jake? I don't know…"

"At least think about it? Listen, I can't hurt someone else the way I hurt you, I need to turn off some of the normal life for a while. I thought you should know that. I'm doing this because of you."

"Wait, doing what?"

"I'm… Listen. There's someone that I like. I have a lot of fun with her, and, well, I've asked her out. We're going on a date tonight, and I'd like it to mean something." He paused, contemplating what he was about to say next. He began again, a little bit quieter. "She actually reminds me of you. But she understands what it's like to be in the tabloids. And it'll take attention off you." His voice got more passionate. "Of course there's going to be press at the school again, people trying to take our picture doing something embarrassing. But I'm not going to put you through that again."

She could see it happening before her eyes, his vulnerability slipping away, and his TV persona taking over. She wondered if it was something that he knew was happening, or if the famous Jake just kept winning in the constant struggle between real and fake, between the real him and his mask. She wondered briefly at what point did the mask become the real person if he always hid behind it. The mask had slipped fully into place this time. He smiled and the softness in his voice was replaced with cockiness. "I'm going on a date with Hannah Montana."

Miley stood stunned, studying the mask, and barely processed what he was saying. She would think about that later. Right now she had to go get ready for the date with the boy in front of her.

She didn't process what he was saying, nor did she hear the sound of the doors swinging open and the student body pouring out of them, leaving with the contents from their lockers. She didn't notice the person bumping into her from behind, but she did see his arms reaching out to catch her and lift her up. She was clutching his shirt, knocked off balance. His face was inches from hers. They stood still for at most a few seconds, but it felt like eternity.

Lilley's voice rose above the crowd, snapping her out of her reverie. "Miley!"

Miley shook her head, pulling herself away. "Yeah," she scoffed. "Friends." She grabbed Lilley on the way down the steps and together they ran back her house. In the commotion of sudden exodus, neither of them saw the man with the camera near the tree line, zooming in to catch Jake and MIley's quick embrace.

* * *

"Okay. Hold on." Lilley paused from sorting through the rotating closet and let the clothes cycle past her. "He asked you out so that he doesn't have to go out with you. He's dating _you_ to get the press off _you._"

"Technically, he's dating Hannah because he likes her, and getting the press away from Miley is an added bonus." Miley shifted through some shoes. "Is it actually possible to be jealous of yourself?"

"I still don't understand why Hannah didn't say no?"

"He said he would come and pick me up at my house, and instead of saying 'no', my gut reaction was to figure out how he could pick me up without coming to Miley's house." She looked up in desperation as another realization hit her. "How am I going to get home without him wanting to drop me off?"

"Don't worry," Lilley replied, holding patterned leggings and a fluffy skirt she desperately wanted to see how they would look together. "Lola will help you out there." She smiled. "Now let's get our wigs on and get out of here, Lola's got to arrive early if she wants a good seat!"

* * *


	3. Falling again

* * *

She hoped that the press going to the premiere would mostly be concentrated only on the stars of the film, but that hope was washed away the second she stepped into the floodlights that were illuminating the red carpet. Jake stepped out first and she grabbed his hand for help out of the limo, and what seemed like millions of flashbulbs erupted in her face. She glanced down and smiled like she was trained to do, and harshly squeezed his hand to let him know that they should planned getting out of the car better, as the linked hands would be posted all over the internet and scrutinized by all the entertainment magazines.

"No, no," she heard Jake saying over the ringing anger in her head. "Hannah and I have been friends ever since she guest starred on my show a year ago. Right now we're just really good friends."

Hannah nodded, sticking with the script they had decided on in the car. "We haven't seen each other in so long; it's nice just to reconnect."

They smiled at the reporter and carried down the carpet, repeating the same few phrases over and over again, barely hearing the question, though one broke through the repetition. "Hannah, it's rare that you're seen without Lola, and we've seen her come through already, with Traci. Have you ditched your BFF for a boy?"

Hannah laughed. "I was supposed to be attending with her, but when Jake wanted to catch up she offered to just meet us here instead. To be honest, she was just excited to see the movie!"

Jake looked at Hannah. "Lola's here?"

"Yep!" She turned back to the reporter. "Ooookey, gotta go, bye!"

"Wait, I have a question for Jake." Jake paused, and she blurted it out before Hannah could pull him away. "Now that you're back in Malibu and going to school again, will you be seeing Miley?"

Jake turned back to the reporter angry. "Miley is a friend of mine that hates the spotlight. We will continue to be friends, but that is all. Let her live in peace." He turned away in a huff, and Hannah had to race to catch up.

She finally reached him when he turned around a corned and leaned with his back up against the wall. "Jake, are you okay?"

"Yeah." He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "I was just hoping that they were going to leave her alone."

Hannah looked at him and they stood together silently for a minute. She tried to carefully judge her next words, but she ended up blurting out it out anyway. "Are you still in love with her?"

Jake looked up sharply and stared into Hannah's eyes, and then shook his head a barely noticeable amount. "Miley is one of my best friends. She knows me better than anyone else. But she hated being my girlfriend. She hated the cameras, the attention. The things that you and I live for." He leaned his head back against the wall, closed his eyes, and blew out a deep breath. "I haven't seen her for almost half a year. I barely know her anymore, but I know she still knows me. I need to have her in my life, but dating her is out of the question." He paused again. "I had to get over her. I had to stop loving her. There wasn't a choice."

Hannah stood quiet for a second and digested. As MIley, she wanted to scream out to him that she still did care, that she didn't hate being his girlfriend. She wanted to hug him. She wanted to kick him for thinking that he didn't know her anymore. She wanted to stalk away from him because he got over her. But Miley couldn't do any of those things.

Before she could tell herself not to, she reached out and brushed her fingers down his arm, grasping his fingers at the end. "Jake…" she barely whispered his name.

He squeezed her fingers. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to dump this on you." He smiled shyly. "We should go back–"

"--am I a rebound?" She interrupted him before she could stop the words from coming out of her mouth, and pulled her hand away from him.

Jake reached back for her hand. "No. I really like you Hannah. I asked you here tonight because I like you." He studied her face, but couldn't read her emotions. "C'mon. Let's get back and find our seats."

She nodded and pulled away. "I need to think about this," she muttered to him, and he nodded, but they together pasted the fake smiles on their face and rejoined the party.

* * *

Hannah didn't really watch the movie; she was too engrossed in her own thoughts. When the critics asked her what she thought she repeated what other people had said. She and Jake acted like couple of friends, but the tension between them was tangible. Finally, it looked like they could leave without anyone getting offended or getting the wrong idea, and Miley started to panic. Where was Lilley? Where would he drop her off? How could she get home without him putting two and two together? He started to lead her to their waiting limo when Lola – dressed in the leggings and fluffy skirt from earlier – ran into her, and then darted away.

Hannah lost her balance and started to flail wildly, but Jake grabbed her arm and helped her back up slowly and cautiously. Jake was looking at her face intently, and a look of confusion briefly passed his face. He felt Hannah grabbing his arm tightly as if it were her lifeline to standing. He looked into her face, her eyes obscured by colored sunglass lenses and bangs that were too long. She smiled at him. He smiled at her. The cameras went crazy. "Are you okay?" He asked softly, and she nodded and giggled. "I'm having the weirdest déjà vu, but I can't figure out…"

"Hannah!" Lola came back onto the scene. "Major girl problem. I need you. Come on!"

"I guess I better…"

"Yeah." Jake nodded. "Okay. I had a great time. I want to see you again."

"I'll call in the morning."

She squeezed his arm again in a friendly gesture and joined Lilley in the limo, ready to re-hatch the evening blow by blow.

* * *


	4. If we were a magazine

* * *

Miley overslept, and was racing up the front steps to her school in a mad rush to make it to her first class when she ran into Amber and Ashely, who were waiting for her to arrive. "Oh, there she is… so, how does it feel?"

"How does what feel? Being late?" She tried to shove past them, but was blocked.

"No, being the 'other girl.' Or, is SHE the 'other girl'? OoOOooh Tssssss."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I need to get to English class."

They dropped the cutsie attitude. "Fine. But you might want to read _this_ first. Enjoy!" They laughed as they walked away, and Miley grabbed the entertainment news article that had been printed off the internet and stared in disbelief. There were two pictures, side-by-side: one of Miley and Jake outside the school when she fell into him and almost the exact same pose of Hannah and Jake from the night before. The headline read, "Jake Ryan love triangle" in large block letters and the subtitle said, "He doesn't just slay zombies, he slays hearts."

Miley groaned and made her way to the desk beside Lilley. "Did you see this?" Miley whispered over to Lilley, who nodded her head.

"I tried calling you all morning on the Miley AND Hannah phones, but you didn't answer!"

Miley reached into her bag and found her phone turned on silent with 20 missed calls. She groaned again and continued searching for her Hannah phone. "Oh no, I must have left it in the purse from last night." She started flipping through the calls. "Okay, you, Oliver, Jake called a bunch, and some numbers I don't recognize… what if they're reporters? I can't have reporters following me again." She looked around. "Isn't Jake supposed to be in this class?"

Lilley rolled her eyes and continued whispering. "I heard the teacher say that he got the morning off because he was out late working last night."

Miley rolled her eyes and put away her phone, not wanting to get that confiscated, and turned back to the article.

_Jake Ryan, star of Zombie High, has recently been seen in passionate embraces with both Miley Stewart, his ex-girlfriend, and teen pop sensation, Hannah Montana. Jake has just returned to his 'normal life' by attending a high school in Malibu, something that he believes is important for his acting career. In a previous interview he has stated, "It's always been hard, with the girls hanging off me all the time, but the attention is great. I like being a normal teenager sometimes. I mean, when I get bad hair days I go to my stylist, but I still know what it's like to write essays and study for tests. I have to make friends just like everyone else." Friends like Miley, who was romantically liked to Jake before his most recent lengthy departure from his 'normal adolescence'. Insiders say that the two broke up due to jealousy of his costars and a dislike for the spotlight._

Miley fumed. "Because I was JEALOUS?" she stage whispered at Lilley.

"Shhh! On the bright side, they spelled your name right."

Miley continued reading.

_Hannah Montana and Jake Ryan were seen arriving together to the Hollywood premiere event yesterday, though despite the obvious chemistry they claim to 'just be friends'. They cameras went crazy for their near-kiss, only to be interrupted by Hannah's long time friend Lulu Luftnigle. We can't wait to find out what happens in this love triangle!_

"Seriously," Lilley scoffed under her breath. "Lulu Luftnigle? What a stupid name! Lola Luftnagle isn't that hard to get right."

"Can it even be a love a triangle if I'm two of the people?"

Lilley shrugged and leaned over the paper again. "Did it saying anything about our outfits?"

"Wait," Miley said, completely ignoring Lilley's question. "Do we have obvious chemistry?"

"Both you and Hannah have obvious chemistry with Jake. You need to figure out what to do about this, because the tabloids are going to be coming a-knocking right away. And I don't think Miley wants that… do you?"

The bell rung and she realized she hadn't listened all period. She turned around and saw waiting at the door of their classroom was the guy in the question. "No. I gotta talk to Jake."

* * *

She gave him a look as she excited the classroom that he understood completely – keep your mouth shut until we're somewhere private. The walked over to an alcove that wasn't near any lockers, and Jake started immediately. "I don't know what happened. Miley, I'm so sorry that this happened, you _know_ that I would never purposefully bring you media attention, I know that you hate it…."

"Jake, it's okay. I mean, I'm upset, but… you're not trying to play me, right?"

"No, MIley, that's what I'm trying to tell you, I want to be your friend."

She nodded, and saw her plan formulating in her head. "Okay." She nodded again, and Jake seemed surprised by her sudden change in attitude. "But you have to really let the press know that we are just friends. For real. And we need to put some ground rules on our friendship."

"Like what?"

"Like… we can't touch, or do anything that if a picture was taken of us it would look bad. And… we should avoid spending too much time alone or in public where everyone can see us."

"I guess I can live with that. But won't it be weird?"

Miley deflated a little bit. "Yeah, but it's necessary. I'm the one that doesn't treat you any differently, remember? You're normal around me. And you have act normal. Oh, that's a good rule. I get to call you out whenever you're acting like a diva."

Jake laughed. "Oh, but you're not allowed to freak out on me whenever I get a special permission to do something that you're not allowed to."

Miley laughed. "That's not fair. Okay, I get to call you out, but I can't freak out."

They continued laughing and making demands for a few minutes, but then they grew quiet. "Jake?" Miley asked. "Do you like Hannah? Are you actually going to date her?"

He paused, then nodded slowly and spoke sadly. "If she'll take me. I mean, I tried to call her all morning when I saw the pictures on the internet, but she's not answering. Maybe she got the wrong idea about me and you. But I do like her."

Miley was amazed at how concerned he was about it. "Don't worry," she found herself saying. "She probably left her phone on silent after the movie yesterday. Try again after school." Jake nodded as the bell wrung and they realized they had to hurry to make it if they wanted to get to class on time. "Oh, and Jake? One more rule. I don't ever want to meet Hannah Montana. I can be friends with you, but I think it would be too hard to see her in person."

He nodded, not quite understanding, but accepting. "Okay, but it's too bad. You guys are a lot alike. You'd be great friends."

* * *

Lilley and Miley were walking home together, hurrying to get to the Hannah phone. "So, now you're okay with Jake getting over you?"

Miley tried to explain her plan and reasoning. "But that's just it; he's not actually over me. Everything he likes in me he sees in Hannah. He wants to be friends with me, and spend time with me, but he likes me too much to put me through dating him. This way I get to still be friends with him and teach him how to be normal, while Hannah gets to go to all the parties and things that celebrities get to do."

"Ooooh," Lilley replied catching on. "This way you get the 'best of both' Jakes!"

"Can we please stop making my life into my songs?"

Lilley just laughed.

* * *


	5. Vulnerable

**It's a short chapter, but the next one should be out by the end of the week.**

* * *

Miley tried really hard when she was Hannah to be different than Miley – not a lot different, but just a bit so that nobody could put two and two together. Hannah had much less of an accent. Hannah wore more make-up, and loved doing celebrity things. She was more confident, because she could be. She had an entirely different fashion sense. Her friends were much more outrageous. All of these things helped, but if she wanted to date Jake, she thought she would have to kick it up at notch. Hannah couldn't have an accent at all when she spoke to Jake. They couldn't have a lot of downtime, because that's what they did together when she was Miley. She had to figure out what to do about getting picked up and dropped off by Jake when they went out.

When they got home from school that day, Miley and Lilley ran up and got the Hannah phone, and called Jake back. Hannah accepted Jake's apology about the picture, laughing. "It makes things easier for what I'm about to do now. Jake, do you want to go out again? This time as a date?"

Lilley watched Miley's grin widen and they grabbed hands and did a silent happy dance. The plan would work perfectly.

* * *

The plan DID work perfectly for a little while. Tabloids were still following Jake around, but Jake and Miley followed the rules of their friends and they always had other friends there too. Hannah and Jake dated in pubic, and had become Hollywood's newest 'power couple'. They were invited to all the biggest parties. They arrived everywhere together, Hannah mostly getting picked up from the studio, or picking Jake up along the way.

Miley and Jake got along great without the added pressure of also trying to date. They were more honest with each other than when they were dating. Hannah and Jake didn't talk a lot about their lives outside of the celebrity circuit, but they still managed to have a lot of fun without getting into trouble. Miley and Lilley decided they were doing well separating their selves, despite Robby's constant jibes of "Tell him! TELL HIM!".

* * *

"Miley," Jake started one day out of the blue, while they were doing their homework in an empty classroom during a spare. "This has been going well, right?"

"What, us being friends? Yeah, it's going great."

"It's just, it's been about a month now since I came back and we decided to be friends, and I wanted to make sure that we were good." He was quiet for a while. "Am I different now?"

MIley assessed him. "You're much less big-headed now, at least, when you're around me."

Jake smiled. "You've always been the only one that can see through my act." He furrowed his brow. "It's just… it's almost like there's two of me. Two totally different Jakes that look the same but don't act the same, or even have the same thoughts going through their minds. And sometimes I like being the Jake that I am, but sometimes I want to be the other one, and I can't make it happen. I don't know how to turn it on and off."

"Who are the two Jakes?" Miley slid over a chair to get closer to him.

"Well, there's Jake Ryan, zombie slayer, teen actor and heart-throb, picture in the magazines, can get any girl…" Miley interrupted him and smacked him in the arm playfully. "Hey! I'm trying to tell you something here." They both quieted down.

"And then there's the Jake I am when I'm with you. Not famous. Not special. Just a normal guy. And you're the only one that treats me like that."

Miley shrugged. "The normal Jake is the one that I like." She hesitated, wondering how much she should say, but then just jumped right in. "I can see it happen sometimes. I think of it as the normal Jake that's real, who you'd be if you weren't famous, and then the mask, the public Jake, which is the one that everyone else sees. And sometimes you're my Jake, who is a little more… unsure. He's hesitant. He's a little shy, vulnerable, wondering if anyone will like him as this Jake. And then you put on the mask. And you're_ invincible_. No one can touch you, that's how confident you are."

He had looked up at the word 'vulnerable' with a little bit of fear in his eyes. He was a little uncomfortable with how well she new him. How well she understood what it was like to be him. He didn't have that kind of insight into her. And vulnerable was the exact word that described how he felt at that moment.

Miley noticed the change in his body language; he went from being totally open to closing himself off from her. "Hey. I'm not going to tell anyone." She grabbed his hand that was sitting on the desk and gave it a squeeze. "I know what it's like."

They stared at each other, the way that they did on that first day back when she fell into him, every blink recorded, every breath noticed. Jake started slowly, "Miley…"

The door to the empty class room banged open loudly as Lilley and Oliver came in talking to each other, not seeing the tension between Jake and Miley, or how they jumped when the spell was broken or the way both of their hands flew away from each other.

They didn't really speak until the bell rang and they gathered up their books to go to the next class. "You know," MIley started, "people will like the shy Jake if you let them meet him."

"The problem with shy Jake is that he can get hurt."

* * *


	6. Faking Normal

**There, like I promised: two chapters in a week. Let me know what you think.**

* * *

Lilley and Jackson were fighting again. It was after dinner and Miley couldn't really quite figure out what they were fighting about, but it involved a lot of poking. Miley shook her head and fished for her phone which she heard ringing. "Shhh, guys, it's the Hannah phone!" They quieted their voices, but the poking continued. "Hey Jake, what's up? What am I doing right now? I'm, uh… hanging out with a friend. You want to see me right now?"

She glared over at Lilley and Jackson who were now slapping each other, and they stopped briefly, only to have Lilley poke him again. "Uh, but you can't, because I haven't seen this friend in a long time and we need to… catch up?" Lilley shook her head. "But there's nothing going on tonight, no parties or anything… you just want to see me? Which friend?"

She looked over and saw Jackson about to pull hard on Lilley's ponytail. "Jackson! She growled at him. "Oh! Yeah, Jake, I'm at Jackson's." She shrugged at the two of them; what was she supposed to say? "No! Miley's not here, she's at… Lilley's! Yep. So that I could have some good quality time with Jackson. Oh, you'll come and pick me up from there? Uh… Jake? Jake?" She shook the phone and put it back to her ear. "Jake? Ooooohhhh, no."

She turned to the kitchen and saw Jackson in a headlock and yelled, "would you two stop acting like you're two? Jake is coming to pick me up in one hour! He really needed to talk to me! Lilley, Hannah closet, now!"

They raced up the stairs. "Miley, what's going on? Why would he want to talk? Did he say anything weird about Hannah at school today?"

"He doesn't normally talk to me about Hannah. I mean, he does sometimes, but I don't want to look too interested. Plus, I don't think it's right."

"NOW is the time you start thinking about what's right?"

Miley shrugged in exasperation. "I don't know! I didn't want to know! I thought things were going well with me and Jake. I didn't want to find out differently!"

"Well I think you're about to find out differently!"

"What am I even going to wear? I'm just supposed to be hanging out. Hannah doesn't 'hang out'; she doesn't have hanging out clothing."

Lilley circled around the Hannah closet. "I think… I can't believe I'm saying this… I think the Hannah closet might be failing us." Lilley nodded seriously at Miley. "We might have to borrow from… from… Miley's closet."

They both gasped. "Okay, we're going to have to think about this carefully, but quickly. First, help me get my wig on. And let's use extra glue just in case it's a good, 'I need to see you right now.'"

It took a while, but they finally got Miley in suitable clothing – something that looked glamorous and comfortable at the same time, AND something that Jake hadn't seen Miley in before.

Miley and Lilley came downstairs and found Jackson watching TV. "Jackson, I know this is going to be hard for both of us, but when Jake shows up, we need to pretend that we like each other for just a few minutes."

"Oh, reeeeaally. What's in it for me?"

"An autographed picture for that girl you like?"

"and..?"

"Two tickets so you can bring her to the show?"

"and..?"

"Two backstage passes so she can meet me and I'll be really nice to her?"

"I would have just settled for the backstage passes, but if you're going to throw in being nice to her for free, I'll take it."

Jackson smiled, Miley growled at him, and Lilley looked out the window. "Eeep! He's here!"

"Lilley, go hide!" Miley turned off the TV and turned to Jackson and they started laughing at the same second as the doorbell rang and Lilley popped out of view behind the kitchen island. "Be nice."

Robby Ray came bounding down the stairs, briefly glancing at the back of their heads on the couch. "Jackson, you and your friend are sitting right on the couch and I had to come from all the way upstairs to get the door. And, it's Jake." He swung open the door. "The door is never for me. I don't know why I even check. Hey Jake, let me just call Miley, she's probably upstairs with Lilley. Miiiiiiiley!"

"Oh, no, Mr. Stewart," Jake interjected, "I'm here to pick up Hannah because she was hanging out with Jackson."

"Oh _was_ she now." Robby glared at Miley, only just noticing that Jackson's 'friend' was in fact his daughter in her blond wig, and walked over to the fridge. "I bet Miley would want to see you, we should give her cell phone a call and bring her down from upstairs.

Miley panicked: her dad didn't agree that she was hiding her identity from Jake, but he couldn't expose her like this! Both phones were in her purse, and Jake would notice if her phone rang while her dad was calling it. Hannah glanced over to where Lilley was poking her head around the corner of the island and gave her the wide-eyed 'do something' look.

Robbie walked over to where his cell phone was plugged in near the door. "I'm going to call her now… Ow!" Robby looked down at the hand gripping his calf. "Lilley!"

Miley kicked Jackson's leg, urging him to jump in. "That's right, Miley's at Lilley's, she didn't want to be here when Hannah was around." He nodded and when Jake wasn't looking mouthed 'you owe me."

Hannah jumped in. "Yep and she'll probably be back soon, so Jake and I better go. She'll be back around nine, ten tops."

"Make it nine-thirty!"

"Right. Thanks Mr. Stewart!" Miley cringed at speaking formally to her dad and grabbed Jake's hand as she raced toward the door.

"Uh, thanks Mr. Stewart." Jake paused outside the door once it had closed. "You know Hannah, that family is great, but they are all soooo weird."

* * *

He brought her back to his house and they sat on the couch in front of the TV without turning it on. "Can I ask you a random question?"

"Uh… sure." Hannah replied, slightly worried.

"Why are you friends with Jackson?"

Hannah laughed, relieved that the question wasn't serious. "Jackson? Who said I actually like that gross… oh, hmm. Umm. Jackson." She paused and started again. "He…" she sighed. "He treats me like a sister. I knew him before I was famous, and he treats me the same way now as he did before. He's annoying, and dumb, and he smells… really he's a total goober…. but I like having someone like that in my life. When you're famous it's hard to know who your real friends are, so you have to hold onto the ones you have."

Jake smiled. "Hannah, I… I wanted to see you today, because I wanted to see you when we weren't at parties or with a ton of other people. I've gotten to know you pretty well, I think, but I feel like I only know half of you, and that's the half that the public sees too. And, I was thinking, that you only know half of me. And, I wanted to know… do you want to know the other half too?"

Hannah smiled and reached out to touch Jake's face. "I already know him. I always have. I wouldn't have gone out with the famous Jake Ryan if I didn't know that you were underneath."

Jake grabbed Hannah's hand. "The way you talk…" he hesitated, wondering if he should tell her how close what she was saying was to what Miley told him the day before, but ultimately decided against it. Talking about previous girlfriends was such a touchy subject with girls. "… it's just like you've known me for such a long time, and I've barely been able to scratch the surface with you."

"You know me better than you think." She scratched her hands over his arms. "Like, can you guess what I'm thinking now?"

Jake nodded, smiled, and then leaned in for a quick kiss. "Hannah, I want to know more about you. What were you like before you got famous? Where did you meet Lola? How did you meet Jackson? Do you ever go out in disguise so that people won't recognize you? Tell me about you, when you're not at parties or events."

He looked so sincere, that Miley couldn't help but want to open herself up to him, tell him the truth, and get everything into the open. But then he smiled, and she could feel a slight tug on her wig which means he was playing with her hair, and she loved so much how everything was right that moment that she didn't want anything to change. She could do this – they had tweaked Hannah's biography slightly so that they couldn't trace her origins back to Crawly Corners, so she just had to tell him that background. Technically, it was what was on every profile page on the internet, so it had become truth in mind of the world.

At least, that was how she justified lying to him.

They talked for what seemed like hours. It was easier than Miley thought, she just had to keep remembering to reference Hannah's background, not Miley's. She kept the accent at bay. She kept the blond hair in her peripheral vision to remind her. At 9:45 the Hannah phone rang and it snapped her out of the time bubble she had been in. She slightly panicked. "Oh, no, I have to go!" she yelped, realizing for the first time that she had no idea how to get home and knowing that Jake couldn't drive her back to her house without suspicion. She looked at the call display and say Lola's name there, and sighed some relief. "Lola?"

"I've contacted your driver; I'm already at home but he'll be at Jake's in 3 minutes."

"Lola, you are a lifesaver." She hung up and faced Jake. "Uh… Lola's going to be here in a few minutes and I have to go with her… she reminded me that I… have to get up really early tomorrow because… I have the studio booked and… I need to go to bed early. Okay, that'll work."

Jake seemed to buy it, and got up to show her out. "Hannah, I had a great time tonight. We need to do this more often. Let's go to the movies or something, it'll be fun to go somewhere normal with you."

"Jake, but we won't be able to do that, we'll be mobbed."

"Yeah, that's why we should go in disguise." He smiled brilliantly. "Bye Hannah." He leaned into kiss her again quickly as the car drove up.

Hannah looked stricken at his suggestion, but forced a smile anyway. "Yeaaaaaah. Okay. Bye!" And she ran out the door.

* * *


	7. Wigs optional

**Yes, it's super short, but it's just getting ready for the next part. **

* * *

Miley and Lilly were at their lockers with their first chance to catch up after last night. "I felt like _me_ when I was talking to him, not someone famous. And he liked _me_. But then he had to go and ruin it all by saying that we should get in disguise and go out normally."

"But that would be so much fun! Going out in disguise without anyone knowing who you are, you can act like normal teenagers!" Lilly stopped confused. "But we already do that. Wait. Hold on."

"Welcome to the conversation. Seriously, I'd have to put a wig on top of my wig, and it would have to be a dark colored wig to cover the blonde hair, but I can't have a brunette wig, because then I'll look like me, which is why I put on the first wig in the first place!"

"Okay wait."

"Lilly!" Miley exclaimed, exasperated. "I need your help!"

"Okay, okay, I need more time to think about it, and, you know, understand it."

Oliver came around the corner holding a flyer. "Hey, you guys coming to the school fundraiser at the arcade tonight? It's Friday night, we gotta do something."

Lilly's eyes brightened. "and then come sleep over, Miley, and we'll figure out this wig thing."

Miley turned to Lilly. "That's a good idea. We'll make sure Jake comes too, so he's not with Hannah and it will give us an extra day to think about the disguise problem. Jake's not supposed to see Hannah until when he comes backstage at the concert tomorrow night." She looked around and spotted him across the hall. "Hey, Jake!" He followed her voice and came over to see them. "You should come with us to the arcade tonight, it'll be fun."

"Sure! I was just talking to Hannah last night about going out in disguise so we could be normal. This is a great opportunity for that!"

Oliver, Lilly and Miley all looked at each other stricken and Miley recovered the fastest. "Jake, you know the rules of our friendship; I don't ever want to meet her."

"But Miley, the two of you are so a like, I just KNOW you'd be friends."

"But I'm not ready yet, Jake." She thought it was a flimsy excuse, but he seemed to be buying it. "But I'll tell you what, you should still come in disguise tonight and then you can tell Hannah how it was and see if it works?"

"That's a great idea! I'm going to go get a wig. Hey, you three are the only ones that'll know. Awesome!" He bounded away excitedly.

Lilly looked at Miley. "Is this going to work?"

Miley shrugged. "I've managed to deflate his ego a lot in the past month. For the past two weeks, we've actually stood in line at lunch. It's a pretty big deal."

"Oh, yeah," Oliver said sarcastically. "This will go really well."

* * *

"Great news!" Lilly bounded over to Miley at the beginning of the fundraiser. "Amber and Ashley aren't going to be here."

"Really? That's great! I can go talk to… well, whomever I want without them getting in our way! I have my eye on Aaden."

"Miley! You're dating Jake."

"No. Hannah's dating Jake. I get to talk to anyone I want." She took a few steps and turned back around. "You know, just knowing that they won't be here takes a huge load off. I haven't felt this great in… while, since the last time I was on stage. But I haven't felt like this as Miley in forever!"

"Oooo, this is going to be fun."

Oliver watched the exchange between the girls before they scampered off and figured that he was going to be in for a long night… He could see the change in their posture when they got more confident. It was like when they were Hannah and Lola – and when they were in costume, they didn't have a lot of time for him. He figured that they wouldn't have a lot of time for him tonight either, even if they didn't have their wigs on.

"Pssst, Oliver, it's me, Jake!"

Oliver turned around and saw the dark haired boy with glasses behind him. "Wow, Jake, that's great, I can barely recognize you!"

"I know! It's awesome. I've been walking around the area all night without any attention. It's fantastic!" He and Oliver sat down on a bench and he glanced around. "Where's Miley and Lilly?"

Oliver pointed over to them. "Over there, but good luck getting their attention. Amber and Ashley aren't here, so they think it's some excuse to talk to people they don't normally." Oliver shrugged and put on his too-cool-to-care voice. "But since I get their attention all the other times… oh, who am I kidding? It stinks. They all of sudden have all this confidence as they walk around the room and totally ignore me."

Jake watched Miley and Lilly talk to some people that he didn't really know, and had to agree with Oliver. They looked different. They even walked differently. It was creating a weird sense of déjà vu, and just as he felt he was getting close to why he felt like he's seen this before, they walked toward him and broke his concentration.

"Oh, Oliver," Lilley cooed. "Who's your cute friend?"

"C'mon Lilly," Miley said as she smacked her arm. "That's Jake."

"What?" Lilly leaned in close to Jake's face and peered at him. "How can you tell?"

"It's the befuddled expression." She yanked Lilly back. "I know costumes; I know what to look for."

Lilly glanced over at Jake who had heard her last comment and looked confused. "You mean you know Halloween costumes," she said nervously. "Because we've known each other forever and you've seen all my crazy costumes over the years… heh heh heh…"

"…yeah, that'll work." Miley leaned over and looked at Jake. "That's a sweet look, but we gotta go talk to someone. See you later!" They ran off.

Oliver watched them leave and turned to Jake. "See?"


	8. Accident waiting to happen

"That was so much fun!" Miley exclaimed to Lilly and Oliver as they left the fundraiser. "Without Amber and Ashley there, it was like I was a whole different person."

"Yeah," Oliver added. "But not a totally new person. Miley, you were acting like Hannah does."

"What?" Lilly asked. "But that would be weird."

"Omigod, Lilly, he's right. And you were like Lola."

"But I am Lola. I don't get it."

"When we're Hannah and Lola we don't worry about what people think of us because we're already famous. And we didn't care how we acted tonight because the school bullies weren't there. My alter ego is starting to take over my life, like tonight!" She gasped. "and I'm starting to take over my alter ego's life like yesterday." She gasped again and grabbed Lilly's arm. "We're becoming the same person!"

"Oh, chill Miley, and, ow." Lilly took Miley's hand off her arm, rubbing away the fingernail marks. "and maybe it is time to tell Jake the truth. Or at least figure out a way to contain your personalities. It's getting confusing."

Miley sighed. "You might be right. I made Jake show up, and I ignored him all night. I'm going to go apologize. He just went home right? It's on the way to your house Lilly. I'll talk with him and then catch up in a few minutes."

Lilly agreed and she turned off a street early from her friends determined to make things right.

* * *

She was approaching the guard station at Jake's home when the power went out. She hesitated before calling out to body man that she had become familiar with. "Hey, Wes?" She had flashlight shone into her face and she cringed.

"Oh sorry Miley, good to see you. Does Jake know that you're coming?"

"Naw, I was rude to him and I just wanted to see how he was doing." She looked around. "What just happened?"

From the light from the flashlight she could just see the man shrug and look up to the sky. "Power outage. Pretty dark night for it, huh." His cell phone buzzed and he pulled it out. "Uh, home office alert says it should be repaired in a few minutes, but this whole quarter of the city is out. Why don't you just go in, I'm going to do a quick sweep."

Miley knew that she was one of only a handful of people that were allowed walk in privileges – he often had people trying to sneak in or take incriminating photos of him, so she smiled at Wes and then continued to the front door, feeling her way along the sidewalk in the pitch darkness. She let herself in. "Jake?" she called softly.

"Hey." He was closer than she anticipated, and she could hear the smile in his voice. "I was just thinking about you."

"I was…"

"Shhhh. Come here."

Miley walked toward the voice, her arms stretched out in front of her so she wouldn't bump into anything and found the couch against her knee. She felt his hands reach out for hers, and she let herself sit down beside him, his hands still grasping hers. "Jake, I…"

"Shhhh." He repeated. "Just, listen. The night is so different when there are no lights humming or TVs blasting." They sat quietly for a few minutes and Miley felt him turn to her. Her hair had been pulled up to a bun on top of her head and she could feel his hand reach up and caress the back of her neck. Suddenly she was being pulled toward him and her lips met his.

She sank into him, forgetting that she was Miley and not Hannah, and letting her breath be pulled away. She delved deeper, her hands playing with his hair, his tongue brushing along her lips, more intimate than they had ever kissed before. She pulled away. "Jake…" she sighed.

"Hannah…"

"HANNAH?!?"

"…Miley?" The lights flickered back on and Jake panicked. "MILEY!?!" He bounded to his feet and jumped away from her. "What are you doing?" he yelped.

"What am I doing? What are YOU doing?" Miley sprung up to her feet and took a defensive stance. "You kissed me!"

"You… you let me kiss you!"

"You kissed me!" She was practically shaking, and couldn't keep her thoughts straight. "You're dating Hannah!" she gasped, speaking with more shock than anything else. "You cheated on Hannah!" She gasped again, this time in hurt and not just shock. "You cheated on Hannah with me!" She pointed her finger at him and was startled to see it was shaking. In fact, after a quick assessment, her entire body was shaking and her face felt wet. A bitter taste entered her mouth and her legs made an involentary bending motion, almost like she was about to spring at him. Not longer was she in a defensive pose, but her entire body had changed to the offensive. Without even thinking, attacking words were springing from her mouth and she couldn't connect her movements and words to her thoughts.

"You're dating Hannah!" She repeated, this time with more anger than shock or hurt, and her whole body was shaking again, straining to hold her stance instead of collapsing in tears. "You are NOT getting away with this!" She stood still for a minute, frazzled and in shock, and then turned on the spot and stomped out the door.

"Miley, no, wait! Let me explain!" She heard him chase after her to the end of the block, but her body was acting on its own accord and she took a few quick turns before she even processed that he was coming after her. She lost him and before she even knew she was climbing the stairs to Lilly's bedroom.

"Lilly," she gasped when she finally got there, and everything that just happened started processing in her brain at the same time. She felt like a truck had crashed into her, and she needed help. "I am in BIG trouble."

* * *

Hahaha, that was so much fun to write. Oooh, what's going to happen? 2 more chapters! Are you enjoying this? Please let me know!


	9. Suspended, frozen, waiting

She ignored all calls from Jake. It was better that way, at least until they figured things out. "He's probably torturing himself, Miley!" Lilly exclaimed in the morning. They had been talking all night, and hadn't come up with any good plans.

"He SHOULD be torturing himself. He _kissed_ me, Lilly."

"Yeah, but he thought he was kissing Hannah." She shook her head. "I hate to say this to you, but I don't think he can be blamed for this. It was dark. Your voice is the same."

Miley pouted. "Can't I just blame him and be mad?"

Lilly pulled Miley into a hug. "It's time to tell him the truth. Tonight. At the concert."

Miley didn't answer, but Lily felt a nod and was sure she heard a sniffle.

* * *

"Dammit, Lill, I'm not ready for this." She was digging around in her purse, not even really knowing what she was searching for, other than it was it felt good to fidget. "Ugh, I can't even find anything in here." She pulled out a handful of paper from her bag including three magazines and the print-out from the internet tabloid that Amber and Ashley had given her so long ago. She glanced at it briefly before tossing it on the side table in her dressing room with the magazines.

"Hannah," Lilly said deliberately. "Jake was in a private box for the concert, which was awesome by the way, but he's going to be here any second, and you gotta be ready!"

Hannah glared at the purple wig. "I hate it when you're right."

Robby Ray, in full mullet and mustache disguise, stopped by the room with Jackson. "Are you sure you're ready for this, bud?" Hannah nodded nervously. "You're doing the right thing."

"I know daddy." She smiled and then started to whine. "Oh no, here he comes!"

Jake walked past Jackson, Robby, and Mike at the door without looking at them, ignored Lola who was standing at the other end of the room, and went right to Hannah. "You've been avoiding my calls, so I know you know that I kissed Miley. And… and I just don't understand it. She was just like you, only… not. I couldn't help it. It…" He took a deep breath, knowing how stupid his next comment was going to sound. "It was like I was kissing you."

Hannah glanced nervously around the room, taking in the nods of encouragement from her family and friends, and she glared at Lola.

"Oh!" Lola cried, "I get it, we'll just leave you alone…" She rushed past the couple and on her way bumped into the back of Hannah…

Hannah fell towards Jake and he caught her on her way down. She clutched his arm with one hand and had a fist full of his shirt with the other for support. They grasped onto each other for support, suspended and frozen as he stared intently at her, as if trying to place a memory…

"Wait!" Jake cried out, his arms shaking and his voice strained. He gazed into Hannah's eyes as she tried to catch her balance, but they stayed locked in the awkward embrace. He turned quickly to face the door where everyone was standing and staring at him and Hannah: the two of them still slightly off balance, he still clutching her shoulders without really recognizing that she was still in his arms. He stood there gawking at the faces surrounding him with an expression that was a mixture of terror and amazement. He was breathing shallowly. He tore his eyes away from the crowd at the door and they rested on a familiar sight off to his left.

Miley followed his gaze to the internet print out; she could read the headline, "Jake Ryan love triangle", but he wasn't focused on the print so much as the photos. He was entranced, and she could practically hear the wheels whirring in his head, putting things together. "Jake…?" she started, pulling his attention back to the present.

He snapped back to Hannah. "You. …and… you!" He whirled around to the door -- still clutching Hannah's shoulders and pulling her around with him -- where everyone was standing and watching. "You all… you all…" he pointed his finger at them as he staggered. "You…"

"… knew." Lola answered for him, and she waved at him, smiling. She leaned around Jake and pointedly said to Hannah, "you have to do it before I do."

Jake turned back to her and felt like he was looking at her for the first time. Her feet finally found solid ground and he released his hold on her, righting them both together. He slowly raised his hand to her face and his finger tips brushed her cheek. His eyebrows were crinkled and he held his breath, memorizing (or was it recalling?) every part of her face.

He exhaled. "Miley?"

She smiled shyly and in once scoop she pulled off her wig and hairnet. Her brown hair came cascading down out of its hold and she reached her hand to join his caressing her face. She smiled shyly; she felt uncertain under his intense stare.

"Why didn't… why didn't you tell me?"

He sounded hurt and Miley could feel her heart breaking for him. "I… I couldn't."

"Don't you trust me?" He withdrew his hand and took a half step back. "I opened up to you, I told you _everything._ And you… you…" he shook his head. "I gotta go. I need some time."

"No, Jake, wait!" Miley called after him and Lola grabbed his arm as he hesitated at the door.

He followed the hand that was grabbing him back to her face and bright hair. "Let go of me, Lilly." He tossed one look of disbelief back towards Miley before running towards the exit.

Miley stood still in shock, watching him leave, letting the tears well up in her eyes. Lilly and her dad arrived to her just in time to catch her as she collapsed in sobs.

* * *

He didn't show up at school the whole next week. "Maybe he's busy at work," Lilly offered to Miley, as they were changing books between classes before their final class on Friday. "He could have been called away… maybe he'll show up after the weekend."

"No, Lilly, he's avoiding me. Just like before." She slammed her locker shut and leaned up against it. "I just have to face it, Lilly. It was too good to last. He liked dating Hannah, and the second he found out it was me he vanished. I just have to get back to remembering what it was like the last time Jake left." She sighed. "I'll put the fake smile back on. Eventually it will belong there." She stood there for a minute more, lost in her own thoughts, and then shook her head to bring herself back to the present. "C'mon, we have Math to get to."

"Uh, Miley?" Lilly paused a few steps behind and called out.

"What now, Lilly?" she growled, and then she followed her friend's outstretched arm and pointed finger to the boy in the dark glasses and hat. Miley stood frozen watching him hide in the corner and try not to get noticed while trying to get Lilly and MIley to join him. Time stood still for her as her heart pounded and her breath quickened. "Lill?"

"Ugh. You know what to do." Lilly walked the few steps over and gave Miley a push. "Go talk to him!" Lilly leaned in close and gave her a bit of quick advice before running off. "I'll tell the teacher that you went to see the nurse or something… just go!"

Miley stood still for a second longer before summoning all her energy to take a few steps further. He had looked confident a few seconds ago, but now that she was walking towards him he seemed to be losing his nerve. His shoulders were hunching and he started fidgeting and took off his sunglasses.

"Okay. Let me say this all at once so I don't screw it up." He took a deep breath. "The last month that I've spent with Hannah as a girlfriend and Miley as a best friend has been the best, and I miss it. I miss you. I miss you no matter who you are. But you didn't trust me. I realized even during the month that you knew me better than I knew you, and I can't be with someone that lies to me. You're the one that said, 'when you're famous it's hard to know who your real friends are, so you have to hold onto the ones you have'. But, a real friend isn't someone that lies to you."

"Jake –"

"Let me finish, Miley," he said rather sharply. "The worst part is that you made me doubt my feelings. You made me think that I cheated. You were confusing me on purpose, especially since I was starting to fall for Miley too…"

Miley stood in shock at his confession – she had been so worried this week that he ran away because he didn't want to date Miley, but what he was upset about was so much worse. "But you like me, so we can still be together—"

"No, Miley. You taught me a lot, and one of those lessons is knowing who you can trust. And I can't trust you." He looked down at his feet and took another deep breath in. "Can you explain why you did it?"

She fidgeted, buying time. The truth is, she couldn't really put into words the reason why she lied. It seemed to make perfect sense at the time, and now… "I've never really told anyone before. Even Lily and Oliver kind of found out by accident. The less people that know… and things were going so well with you dating Hannah, I was afraid that you wouldn't want me anymore if you found out I was just Miley." She paused, not knowing where to go next. "I got the best of both worlds with you. I wasn't ready to give that up."

"I'm going to shoot another movie," he interrupted. "This time in Florida. I'm going to be there for a while… I think we need some time apart. Just… just think about what I said, okay?"

Miley nodded numbly frozen in her spot, and he turned around and walked out the front door.

Lilly found her after class in the same position: staring at the front doors with tear stains on her cheeks.

* * *

**Let me know how you're enjoying it! I sure had fun writing it! Just one more chapter to go. Oooh, will Jake and Miley get together in the end? Of course they will, it's a comedy! Get with the program!**


	10. Stumbling into the arms of the one

It was almost two months later when Jake walked back into her life without any warning. She heard him before she saw him backstage at a benefit concert. "Now, now, I have plenty of time before my appearance, there's enough of me for everyone."

Miley stood still, frozen in fear as his voice carried over the din, and then as if her body was moving on its own accord, she turned towards him. Somewhere her brain was recognizing that she could hear Lilley's voice cry above everyone else's ("Hannah, Hannah! I have to talk to you before you see…") but it was too late. The pink wig came into her peripheral vision and Lilly's voice dropped as she followed Hannah's gaze over to the screaming fans. "… Jake."

Time seemed slow down, the voices all around her melted away and she was left with only the sound of the blood rushing in her ears. He looked up that instant and met Hannah's eyes across the room and his face lost all colour. They stared at each other from across the room, ignoring all other sights and sounds around them. Hannah bit her lip nervously and tried to read the emotions in his face, but his guard was slipping back up and she was faced only with his mask. She let out the breath that she didn't know she was holding and shook her head an almost imperceptible amount.

She was willing herself not to cry.

Somewhere over the pounding in her ears she heard an announcer cry, "And now, Hannah Montana!" and she could feel Lilly's arms pushing her towards the stagehand. Lilly punched her arm. "Hannah, they're calling your name!"

Hannah turned to her with fear in her face and a trembling chin. "Lill…"

"Hey, hey, hey… you can do this. Just one song. C'mon, you're Hannah Montana! Okay?" Hannah nodded and Lilly seemed satisfied. "Just one song, and then we'll get out of here."

Hannah forced a smile onto her face and grabbed the microphone. "Right… I can do this." She took a deep breath and then looked at Lola in a panic. "Lill, I'm singing 'One in a Million.' Could I have picked a worse song for today?"

Lilly laughed. "I don't think you could have picked a better song. Now go!"

This time a real smile graced Miley's face as she strutted on stage to greet her screaming fans.

* * *

Lilly wasn't waiting for her when she came off stage, so Hannah looked around for her but caught Jake's eye instead. "Sweet nibblets!" She saw Lola chasing Kelly Clarkson at the other end of the backstage, and stalked over to her dressing room trying to sidestep Jake's calls and avoid eye contact with him again, and so she didn't see the stage hand come from the other direction. She collided with him and went flying, certain that she was going to crash straight into the props table when a pair of strong arms saved her and pulled her straight.

Her eyes were closed and she was willing herself not to open them because then she would have to face the person she was certain had saved her. She knew that position. She knew his smell and the way his arms grasped hers. "Noooo…" she moaned and she shook her head.

He responded softer that she expected him to. "Hey, you okay?"

She nodded, single tears leaking out the corners of her eyes. She regained her balance and opened her eyes, wiping beneath them to save her make-up. "Thanks for saving me, there," she responded, still avoiding his eyes.

"To tell you the truth, I actually paid the stagehand to bump into you. You know, for old time's sake." He paused. "And I called in a favour from Kelly to distract Lola so I could talk to you alone."

Her head jerked to his in shock and was surprised to see that he was holding his breath, waiting for her to say something. "Jake…?" she questioned.

"I miss you, Miley," he said quietly, so no one would hear. "You were wrong in lying to me, but I was wrong in leaving. I… I was wrong. And I miss you, and I might have thrown everything away that we have, and, and I can't do that. I've forgiven you for lying to me, and I may even understand it now, because I've been going out in disguise a lot. I kind of get it. Can… can you forgive me?"

Miley looked up at him and every emotion she ever felt about him came rushing back at once. "Jake, I can't be hurt by you again. I don't have it in me to have my heart broken by you, I might not recover this time."

Jake nodded. "That's why we're going to base this time on honesty. No secrets. No lies. Just us."

Miley contemplated this for a moment, and a line from the song she just sang came back to her: _Then stumbled into the arms of the one._ She let a giggle escape her lips before she broke into a wide grin. "Yes," she said, an answer to every question just asked. She reached her arms around him and leaned in for a kiss, one of many to come.

"Hannah, Jake!" A voice interrupted almost immediately after their lips touched and a bulb flashed. They looked over and saw a reporter that was covering the event. "Does this mean you're back together?"

They looked at each other, still embracing, and Jake raised an eyebrow. Hannah broke out into a large grin and said, "Yes, yes it does."

"Jake, what about Miley? How will your ex respond to your continued relationship with Hannah?"

They both looked at each other in alarm and Jake whispered in an aside to her, "a relationship based on honesty?"

Miley grinned broadly and whispered back, "well, maybe this one lie won't hurt."

They turned back to the reporter and Jake responded. "Miley's my best friend. Hannah is my girlfriend, and they are totally okay with each other. I truly get the best of both worlds."

They smiled at each other and grinned, and then leaned in for another kiss, this time not getting distracted by the camera.

END.

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**And thus ends my first Hannah Montana fanfic. It was a blast, and I hope you guys loved reading it as much as I did writing it. Please let me know what you thought of it, and even better, if you know of ways that I can improve my writing, PM me. (or put it in comments, I don't mind.)**

**Thanks for reading!**

**- ella**


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